Crewe Alex 0-0 Colchester United 24/25 Review - Dull

That was a painful watch. It wasn't actively bad. We've seen that against Chesterfield. But it was a long, long way off being good. What it was, was dull. Boring. Tedious. Monotonous. Just a nothing game with very few things of note to take from it. How you sum up that 90 minutes, I don't know. But let's give it a go.

Positives

Let's get the positives out the way. They picked up their 9th clean sheet. The defence for the most part was rock solid as usual, only yielding 0.35 xG against. Marshall was decent. They went a 12th game unbeaten and are closing in on their 16 game run from the end of the 11-12 season. Aside from a few nervy moments, they never really looked like losing. They, at worst, will head into Christmas Day 5th and should Doncaster and Wimbledon fail to win, they'll stay 3rd. They are still in a good position and none of that should be or is being forgotten.

Away Side

Watching Lee Bell set the Alex up as the away side is infuriating. The Alex sat off Colchester and we saw yet another side come and mostly have the freedom of Crewe to knock the ball around and dictate how the game was to be played. It was frustrating to watch the Alex get out passed and not really have a plan on how to counter it. They are 15th in possession and 17th in accurate passes per game. They need to be far more proactive in home games, as teams are finding it easy to sit deep and nullify them at the moment.

Tactics

The biggest issue I have is the tactics being used. The 3-5-2 works fine if it's used correctly, but it isn't. It's preventing defeats, but it's not helping them win enough games, given they have won just 5 of the 12 games in their unbeaten run. The wing backs are too deep and not creative enough at the moment, Conway especially.

The midfield 3 aren't consistent enough. Tabiner and Holicek tonight went missing. Aside from Lankester, no other attacker is showing the ability to want to get on the ball and create chances. Again, they aren't losing, which is all well and good. But they are lacking creativity and I feel that's down to how they are sent out.

Colchester

I'll give the away side their dues. They played a weak and gullible ref, slowed the game down and made it a scrappy bitty affair, which was their game plan all along. They were solid and well drilled and you can see why they've drawn so many away games, plus have now gone 5 games without conceding. Have they got enough to climb the table? I'm not so sure. But they'll be safe in mid-table on tonight's evidence. They deserved the draw and got it.

Tempo

My biggest bug bear was the lack of tempo. The Alex were the home side and they never once showing any energy or drive to push for the win that was always there for them. A few flashes of passion in the 2nd half wasn't and isn't enough, not in front of 9,000 expectant fans, half of whom were there for the first time and won't be back any time soon. The overriding image for me was a father carrying his little girl down the steps of the main stand at full time. She was fast asleep. I don't think you can sum up the 90 minutes of football we'd just witnessed more fittingly than that.

Ref Assessment

Weak. Easily conned and tricked. Didn't get anything major wrong, but he got most of the minor things wrong instead. He's supposed to be a 16 year veteran, one of the better ones. On tonight's evidence, I couldn't tell the difference between him and a rookie.

Management Assessment

Should they have started Bogle in hindsight? Potentially yes. But the subs were baffling. Sanders off and Tabiner left on. Lankester taken off and Tracey left on. Make it make sense lads. I'm not sure how much of tonight's no show was down to them, but they need a rethink of how to play at home.

Player Assessments

Filip Marschall

Fresh off a new deal at Aston Villa allegedly, he was his usual solid self. A smart save in the first half from Lyle Taylor was the highlight of his night. Up to 9 clean sheets.

James Connolly

A pretty decent evening. Still scary on the ball, but he didn't make many mistakes after having a tough evening against the physical stature of Samson Tovide.

Mickey Demetriou

Last season, he was often the deciding factor in games from set plays, but this season he's been non-existent. That's not a criticism of him, just pointing out their shortcomings in a few areas that were better last season.

Zac Williams

We finally saw him go on some of those driving runs, but I still feel he needs to be given more license to kick on and join attacks, which is where he really flourishes.

Ryan Cooney

Another quiet game where he looked solid defensively. But like a few in the team, I feel he's not enough of a factor going forward at the moment.

Joel Tabiner

Is he back? Nope. This is who Tabiner is at the moment. A 1 good game in 5 player who too often contributes very little towards the result in fixtures most weeks, but somehow stays on for 90 minutes without fail. Make him play for his spot and drop him every once in a while.

Max Sanders MOTM

The best midfielder, yet he was hooked after 68 minutes. I can see why he was so miffed when he came off. I would be seeing inferior performers stay on ahead of me.

Matus Holicek

Another scrappy display, but like several of the others, his attacking output is nowhere near consistent enough.

Max Conway

He's starting to really wind me up. His evening was summed up when he got the ball on the left and instead of whipping in a cross or laying it off to Tabiner, he cut inside into traffic as he once again tried to take on half the opposition and surprise surprise, he lost it. We need to have a conversation about how much of a non-factor he is attack wise. 2 goal contributions compared to Cooney's 5(not including penalties). We need to see more, although to be fair, he came close late on.

Shilow Tracey

Non-existent. Never the game to start him, although that is said in hindsight. Had the fewest touches of the starters and his only moment was the first half which was deflected wide. How he stayed on for 90 minutes, I don't know. 17 starts and goal contributions in 3 of them. Not enough.

Jack Lankester

I get you need to get your best attacker(and player?) fit and fresh over the next few weeks. But when you're chasing a win, taking off your biggest threat? I don't get it.

Subs:

Omar Bogle

Put himself about the foul he got pulled up for was laughable. He came close with his 2nd half effort. Starts against Cheltenham.

Jack Powell

Nice to see him come off the bench and get involved, he needs more game time given the lack of consistent creativity of the other midfielders.

Chris Long

My heart stopped when he went into that 50-50 on the touchline, but that aside, he had little chance to get involved.

Overall Verdict

Negative review aside, I'll take the point, which will look better if they are able to grab a win from one of the next 2 away games. But this was a deeply unsatisfying game that could and should have been far better. If they want automatic promotion, they need to show a far better attacking intent.